Posts Tagged ‘NH Department of Resources and Economic Development’

A colleague lamented the other day that she catches herself thinking it’s only late September or early October, but here we are with Thanksgiving a little more than 5-hours-at-350-degrees away.

While we’re planning for the holiday and the guests who are on their way, chances are we are sparing a thought or two to after the leftovers are put away.

That’s when the start of the Christmas season goes into high gear and chances are, you’ll be stepping out to get a start on your list. A good day to head out would be Small Business Saturday, so declared by Gov. Hassan, who joins others around the nation in encouraging people to spend their holiday dollars on Main Street.

These merchants are the foundation of the communities in which we live. They do everything from giving our hometowns uniqueness and character to employing our neighbors and keeping the local economy robust and healthy. There are some very neat presents to be found and we are confident that in one of these stores, there is a perfect gift you may not find anywhere else.

When we get back from the Thanksgiving break on Monday (Dec. 2), we here at the Division of Economic Development have a busy couple of weeks coming up. We’re heading to Montreal to attend Aero Montreal’s Innovation Summit and we’re hosting our 18th annual meeting.

This year’s event is from 8:30 am to 2 pm, Dec. 11 at Church Landing in Meredith. The theme is Rock the Ages, focusing on the three generations in today’ workplace — the Boomers, Generation X and the Millennials — and how their experience, energy and imagination can be harnessed for economic success.

The event is free (thanks to sponsorship from Public Service of New Hampshire), but seating is limited. If you are interested in attending, please register here as soon as you can.

Great minds — about 150 of them — came together Thursday to talk about the state of manufacturing in New Hampshire these days.

The good news is that our top industry is flourishing. But it is challenged by a gap in the number of skilled workers there are to take advanced manufacturing jobs and that’s why educators and manufacturers met at Nashua Community College today to talk about ways to fill the gap and keep the industry strong.

The featured speaker was Bill Symonds, director of Harvard University’s Pathways to Prosperity program.

The biggest message he delivered: Manufacturing is not your grandfather’s factory anymore.

The pay is above average. The jobs are demanding. The industry is far from dead.

What needs to happen is to get around the image there is about manufacturing days of old. To direct students of a mind not necessarily for academics to these jobs — New Hampshire has some world-class companies that make parts and components used around the world and even the universe.

There were some great conversations and ideas. Lots of business cards were exchanged. People on both sides left charged up and ready to meet the challenge.

In just a little over 24 hours, we hosted international delegations from Turkey (Wednesday) and China (Thursday). It’s not often we get to host to guests from overseas, so back-to-back visits is where the unique and unusual comes in. This tells us that from a global perspective, New Hampshire is rich in opportunity.

From our perspective, we do, of course, already know that … and we are quite confident that from these visits will come an awareness of the products made right here in the Granite State and create new markets for the companies that produce them.

When demand for products increases, so does the workforce and new jobs have to be filled.

Our Turkish guests were from the Istanbul Efficiency Business Association and arrived very eager and enthusiastic about exploring everything from cultural exchanges and a couple of our college campuses to making connections for another planned visit in September.

The Turkish Delegation arrived on Wednesday.

About 5,000 Turkish-Americans call New Hampshire home and Turkey ranks ninth among our trading partners. So there were no strangers in the group, just friends we hadn’t met yet.

On Thursday morning, we welcomed eight people from the Jilin province in China, many of them our counterparts in economic development, including Gao Cailin, Director General of the Office of Financial Affairs for the province and Dai Min, president of the Center for America-China Partnership.

New Hampshire companies exported products they make that totaled $4.3 billion last year and while parts of the world are dealing with their own challenging economies, China and Turkey are looking for new opportunities and new relationships.

Two months before the shopping begins at the Merrimack Premium Outlets, representatives of the more than 100 stores that will open there in June went shopping for employees Friday. About 800 positions need to be filled and answering the call were more than 2,000 people who came out to Nashua Community College on Friday.

On hand were teenagers, many of whom were likely seeking their first summer job, moms looking for hours that will accommodate their family time and folks looking to change direction in their lives, for whatever the reason. In the gymnasium, there was energy, enthusiasm and optimism that will propel the employees, the stores, the region and New Hampshire further out of the economic malaise of the past few years.

Mark your calendars for the grand opening – June 14.

(Memo to Fossil: We’ll be back to admire that handbag you had on display …)

CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch and the Executive Council on Wednesday approved a $4 million Business Finance Authority loan to complete a major economic development agreement between the State, Safran USA, and the City of Rochester.

The agreement will enable the construction of a previously announced 275,000 square-foot facility, in which Safran USA and Albany Engineered Composites (AEC) will be co-located. The facility will employ approximately 400 workers. The State, through the Department of Resources and Economic Development, worked with Albany, Safran USA and the City of Rochester to ensure an agreement could be reached.

“We have been working closely with Safran USA and Albany to see the project through to completion. Today’s news is a major economic development win for Rochester and the entire state of New Hampshire, and will result in the creation of hundreds of jobs,” Gov. Lynch said.

As part of the effort to recruit the new facility, the state has also partnered with Great Bay Community College to create a new composite manufacturing curriculum to train workers to fill the new jobs.

“Safran USA and Albany could have located their new facilities anywhere in the country, but they chose New Hampshire because they recognize that we have a strong workforce and a winning economic strategy. We worked intensely with the companies over the past several years to make the construction of this new plant, and the hundreds of jobs that come with it, a reality,” Gov. Lynch said.

“I want to thank (DRED) Commissioner George Bald and his staff, particularly state business recruiter Cindy Harrington, as well as New Hampshire’s Business Finance Authority, under the leadership for Jack Donovan, for getting us to where we are today. I also want to thank Mayor T.J. Jean and Rochester city officials for their work and commitment to this project,” Gov. Lynch said.

“Finally, I want to thank Albany International’s President and CEO Joseph Morone and Safran USA leadership for their commitment to New Hampshire and for working cooperatively to move this critical project forward.”

“This agreement, and the manufacturing plant and new jobs that will result from it, is a reflection of not only the strength of the relationship between the State of New Hampshire, the City of Rochester, Albany International and Safran USA, but also of how tightly our futures are connected. The efforts of Governor John Lynch and his team in this process cannot be overstated, and the new plant and new jobs that will be created are the direct result of his efforts on behalf of State of New Hampshire,” said Albany President and CEO Joseph Morone.

The new facility will manufacture composite engine components.

“We are very pleased to launch the construction of a manufacturing plant in Rochester, where the Safran group and AEC will combine their resources in order to produce advanced composite parts for the LEAP aircraft engines developed by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Safran and GE,” said Peter Lengyel, President and CEO of Safran USA, Washington D.C. Operations.

Albany Engineered Composites is a subsidiary of Albany International, Corp., which employs about 225 workers at its existing Rochester facility. Last year, the company relocated its corporate headquarters from New York to Rochester.

“The City of Rochester is honored to be selected by Safran USA and Albany Engineered Composites to host their new world-class advanced manufacturing facility. This investment demonstrates Rochester’s commitment to attracting and securing sustainable industrial development and providing valuable jobs to our local economy,” said Rochester Mayor T.J. Jean. “Today’s announcement is a milestone for Rochester as we emerge from these difficult economic times.”

“This is a great day for Rochester and for the state of New Hampshire as a whole,” said Commissioner George Bald. “We thank Safran USA for making the decision to locate their facility in New Hampshire and commend the City of Rochester for its hard work in bringing in a quality company that will create new jobs and add to the economic vitality of our state.”

Construction of the new plant, near the existing Albany facility, will begin in the spring of 2012.

According to a new report by the Economics and Statistics Administration and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, New Hampshire ranks second in broadband usage in the country at 78 percent, trailing only Utah at 80 percent.

In response to that report, State Broadband Director Carol Miller has issued the following statement:

“Although there is still work to be done to bring connectivity to rural unserved and underserved areas, this report speaks well for NH as a tech savvy state and our embracing of new technologies.

NH has had the reputation of a high tech state in past years. The notion that we were slipping began as more competition for the status materialized. NH is indeed a hotbed for technologies and our universities and state incentives for business have had a major influence on that designation.

NH is a great place for technology businesses. Our biggest assets are qualify of life, lower cost of living, and a dedicated team at the Division of Economic Development under the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development. We have it all right here in NH.”

To see a copy of the report, visit esa.doc.gov/Reports/exploring-digital-nation-computer-and-internet-use-home.